百年驚情

原作節選

On 4th May I arrived at the little town called Bistritz. Transylvania was a strange and beautiful country. There were mountains， trees and rivers everywhere. And somewhere high in the mountains was the Counts1 home， Castle Dracula. I had six hours to wait before the coach2 came to take me there， so I went into a little hotel. Inside it was warm and friendly. The people there were all laughing and talking. “Where are you going？”they asked me.

“To Castle Dracula，” I replied.

Suddenly， the room was silent and everyone turned to look at me. I could not understand why they all looked afraid.

“Dont go there，” someone said.

“But I have to，” I answered. “Its business.”

They began to talk again， but they were no longer3 laughing. Slowly， the hotel keepers wife took the gold cross4 from her neck and put it into my hand. “Take this，” she said. “There is danger at Castle Dracula. Perhaps this will help you.”

When the coach arrived and I got into it， a crowd5 of people came to watch， and I heard the word “vampire”6.

The coach traveled up into the mountains. Higher and higher it went， faster and faster. The sun was bright， but above the trees there was snow on the mountain tops. Then suddenly the sun went down behind the mountains and everywhere was dark. In the forest around us， the wolves were howling7. It was a terrible sound.

Suddenly the coach stopped. A small carriage8 came down the narrow road on the right. Four black horses were pulling it， and the driver was dressed in9 black， with a black hat pulled down over his face.

“Wheres the Englishman？” he called. “Ive come from Castle Dracula！ ”

He looked strange， standing there in the moonlight， and suddenly I was afraid. But it was too late. I could not go back now.

Soon we were on our way to Castle Dracula. The mountains were all around us and the moon was behind black clouds. I could see nothing—but I could still hear the wolves. The horses went faster and faster， and the driver laughed wildly10.

Suddenly the carriage stopped. I opened the door and got out. At once the carriage drove away and I was alone in front of the dark， silent castle. I stood there， looking up at it， and slowly， the big wooden door opened. A tall man stood in front of me. His hair was white and he was dressed in black from head to foot.

“Come in， Mr. Harker，” he said. “I am Count Dracula.” He held out his hand and I took it. It was as cold as ice！

I went into the castle and the Count carefully locked the door behind me. He put the key into his pocket and turned to go upstairs. I followed him， and we came to a room where a wood fire burned brightly. In front of it there was a little table with food and drink on it. The Count asked me to sit down and eat， but he did not eat with me. Later， we sat and talked by the fire. His English was very good， and while we talked， I had time to look at him carefully. His face was very white， his ears were like the ears of a cat， and his teeth were strong like the teeth of an animal. There was hair on his hands and his fingers were very long. When he touched me， I was afraid.

It was nearly morning when I went to bed， and outside， the wolves were still howling.

The next morning I found my breakfast on the little table in front of the fire. Now that it was light， I could see that Castle Dracula was old and dirty. I saw no servants all that day.

The Count did not come to breakfast， but there was letter from him on the table.

“Go anywhere in the castle”， it said， “ but some of the rooms are locked. Do not try to go into these rooms. ”

Tip

Transylvania：特蘭西瓦尼亞，位于羅馬尼亞中西部地區，地形以高海拔茂密森林為主。眾多的城堡以及為抵擋敵人入侵而被城墻包圍住的教堂，為這里增添了諸多神秘色彩。它更因小說《德拉庫拉》（Dracula）被譽為“吸血鬼故鄉”，而成為許多人趨之若鶩的旅游勝地。近幾年深受大家喜愛的迪士尼動畫系列《精靈旅社》（Hotel Transylvania）的故事便發生在此。

5月4日，我到達一個叫畢斯特里茲的小鎮。特蘭西瓦尼亞是個奇怪而美麗的國家，到處山巒起伏，樹木蔥郁，河流縱橫。山中有一處高高聳立的地方就是伯爵的家，德拉庫拉城堡。我必須等6個小時才能有馬車來接我去那里，所以我進了一家小旅館。里面一派溫暖祥和的氣氛，人們又說又笑，好不熱鬧。“你要去哪兒？”他們問我。

“去德拉庫拉城堡。”我回答。

屋內頓時一片寂靜，人們都轉過身看著我。我不明白為什么他們看起來如此害怕。

“別去那兒。”有人說道。

“但我不能不去，”我回答，“是公事。”

他們又開始說話，但不再有人大笑了。旅店的老板娘慢慢地摘下脖子上的金十字架，把它放到我手里。“拿著這個，”她說，“在德拉庫拉城堡有危險，也許這個能對你有點兒幫助。”

馬車終于來了。當我坐進去時，一群人出來觀看，我聽到有人說“吸血鬼”這個詞。

馬車徑直朝山上駛去，越走越高，也越走越快。這里陽光明媚，樹木上方的山頂上卻白雪皚皚。突然，太陽落山了，四周一片黑暗。周圍的森林里傳來狼嚎的聲音，非常可怕。

忽然，馬車停了。一輛小型四輪馬車從右邊狹窄的山路上駛下來。……